Cotton-gin brush.



119.732,999. i. Y PATENTED JULY v, 1903.

" T. BRANTLBY.

"001311011 GIN BRUSH.

APRQIOATION FILED 001217. 1902. No MODEL. Y

" 1111// 111 .1 y I y the whole series of tufts is loosened.

UNITED STATES ratented Juiy 7, 190e.

PATENT OFFICE.

` THOMAS BRANTLEY, OALBANY, GEORGIA. A

COTTON-GIN BRUSH.

sPEoIiicATioiv forming para of Letters Patent No. 732,999, dated July 7, 190e. i

Application led October 17, 1902. `Serial No. 127,649. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom t may con/cern,.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS BRANTLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at'Albany, in thecounty of Dougherty and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brushes for Cotton-` Gins, of which the following is a specification.L

`ments I have shown in the drawings andwill describe in this specification my invention as p embodied in a brush especially intended for use in a cottongin.

Ordinarily the frames of the brushes of cotton-gine are made of wood, consisting of disks secured to a driving-shaft and carrying longitudinal wooden bars, to which the tufts of bristles are attached. Each of these bars extends fromend to end of the brush-frame, and a series of tufts of bristles is attached to each bar by a single cord in such manner that if the cord is cut or broken at any point If one of the tufts becomes worn or cut and it is necessary to remove it and replace it by another, the bar to which this tuft'is attached must be removed, and it is necessary to loosen the entire series of tufts on the bar. When the tuft-carrying bars extend the entire length of the frame, all of the tufts in arow from endto end of the frame are in contact at the same time with the saws, thus producinga heavy draft, requiring great power to operate the brush.

According to my invention I construct the brush-frame of a series of disks, which I secure to a central driving-shaft, and I connect the disks by comparatively short brush-bars,

the bars of one section of the frame between two` adjacent disks being out of line with the bars of the next adjacent section, by which arrangement only a portion of the tufts are brought into contact with the saws at any one time, thus producinga much lighter draft than that incident to the old construction.

I have observed that in the old style of ginbrush, where the frame is made of wood and where the brush-bars are secured to the end disks or heads comparatively loosely, there is i considerable vibration and a springing or bowingof the driving-shaft. j To remedy this, I securely fasten lthe disks or heads of the skeleton frame to the shaft and attach the brush-bars to the disks in such manner as to produce a longitudinal tension on theframe, holding the outer edges of the disks firmly and rigidly, and thus not only prevent their vibration, but also the springing or bowing of the shaft.

Instead of attaching a series .of tufts of bristles to a brush-bar by a single cord I secure each tuft independently thereto in such manner that while being held firmly when in use it may be readily removed and replaced without disturbing the other tufts and without removing the bar from the frame. I do not, however, herein claim the improved way of securing tufts tothe brush bars or frames, as such subject-matter is claimed in my Pattent No. 723,579, March 24, 1903.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a gin-brush, constructed in accordance with my invention, with part of the casing in one section broken away. Fig. 2 shows a transverse section on thev line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of a part of a brush-bar with one of the tufts secured thereto. Fig. tis a detail view,in1on `gitudinal section ,of a part of the brush-frame. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the manner of constructing a tuft. Fig. 6 is a perspective viewof a tuft nearly completed.

The disks A are arranged equal distances apart 'on a central shaft B. Each disk is formed with a hub b, carrying a set-screw b', which engages the shaft B, and between each pair of disks is arranged a cylindrical sheeti metal casing or shield C, the edges of which rest on anges c on the disks, as indicated in Fig. 4. I have shown in Fig. -l Y five such disks. The two outer disks are of course provided with only one flange c, while the three inner disks are provided with flanges c on each side. The disks are formed on their peripheries with notches or recesses d, preferably dovetailed or undercut, as shown, to receive the brush-bars D. The disks, as well as the bars, are of metal, and the notches are so ar- IOO ranged that the bars on one section of the frame shall be out of line with those on the next adjacent section. The bars are inserted endwise into the proper notches of two adjacent disks and are upset or headed, as indicated at Qc, in such manner as to hold the disks parallel and `to prevent any endwise movement of the bars.

In the drawings I have shown the frame die .vided into four sections, (numbered 1,2,3,and

4.) The bars in section No. 1 being upset or beaded at their outer ends tend to draw the disks 5 and 6 toward each other and bind them tightly against the intervening casing or shield C. The'bars of section No. 2 tend in like manner to draw the disks 6 and 7 toward each other and bind them against the casing intervening between them. The remaining disks are held together in a similar way, the total effect being to bind all the disks iirmly together and clamp the casings securely between them. By this arrangement a longitudinal tension is produced on the peripheries of the disks that prevents them from vibrating, holds them in alinement, and prevents sagging or bowing on the shaft. The inner ends of the notches or recesses d are just outside the lianges c, so that when'the bars D are inserted they bear against the casings or shields C and hold them securely on the iianges. In order that the set-screws b' maybe conveniently tightened or loosened, I provide openings in the casings closed by doors E of any suitable construction, through which a socket-wrench may be inserted.

In constructing the tufts for the brushes I proceed as follows: I first take a tuft-F of suitable bristles and pass a cord faround it inthe manner illustrated in Fig. 5. I then dip the ferrule Gin a suitable glue or cement, pass the cord through the ferrule, as indicated in Fig. 5, and draw the tuft well up into the ferrule. I then clip the cord close to the upper edge of the ferrule, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and then apply a suitable glue or cement until all space around the bristles and at the upper end of the ferrule is completely filled. The glue or cement` which I employ is such that it will not become brittle when cold or dry, but will be somewhat yielding or elastic, permitting the ferrule to be bent or have its shape changed in the manner. hereinafter described. It will be observed that I do not entirely remove the cord which is used to draw the tuft into the ferrule. If the cord were removed, the glue or cement might not penetrate the bristles suihciently to firmly attach the inner bristles; but by leaving the cord in the tuft, as illustrated in Fig. 6, all the bristles will be securely held in the ferrule.

Each brush-bar is formed with a series of notches or recesses H, which are preferably dovetailed or undercut. A ferrule carrying a tuft is inserted in each of these notches and is bent or compressed by suitable tools until it takes the form of the notch and over laps the side edges thereof, as indicated at 7i, in Fig. 8. By this arrangement each tuft is securely attached to a bar, being held firmly against strains due to centrifugal force or to the resistance produced by the gin-saws. If one of the tufts becomes unduly worn or cut, it may be removed and replaced without disturbing any of the other tufts by the use of a suitable tool which may be employed to crush or distort the ferrule until it is so loose in its notch that it may be readily removed therefrom. The cement which I employ may of course in time become hard and brittle; lbut this is immaterial, because when it is desired to remove a worn-out tuft there is no objection to having the glue or cement cru mble; but the cement remains elastic long enough after the tuft is made to permit the tufts to be assembled and attached to the brush-bars.

It is obvious that some of my improvements are not confined to cotton-gin brushes. They are applicable to rotary brushes of various forms and for various uses, and the manner of constructing and applying the bristles may be used in brushes of nearly all kinds.

Instead of employing bristles-to form the tufts I may use othersuitable material. So far as part of myinvention is concerned it is imma terial how the tufts are attached to the brushbars. I prefer, however, to attach the tufts individually to the bars vby means of ferrules;

but so far as the general construction of the brush is concerned the tufts may be applied in any suitable Way, or if the tufts are applied individually the string and the cement may be omitted in some cases, as the compression of the ferrule into the notch may attach the tufts securely to the brush-bar.-

I claim as my invention- 1. A rotary brush, comprising a shaft, a series of disks attached thereto, sheet-metal casings or shields arranged between the disks, brush-bars connecting a disk with an adjacent disk on one side, brush-bars out of line ICC IIO

with said first-mentioned bars, connecting said iirst-mentioned disk with another disk` on its opposite side, and brushes carried by the brush-bars. V

2. A rotary brush, comprising a shaft, metallic disks secured thereto, metal brush-bars connected with the disks, and having their ends upset to put the disks under tension and to hold them against vibration, and brushes carried by the brush-bars.

3. A rotary brush comprising a shaft, a series of disks carried by the shaft and having side flanges and notches or recesses outside the flanges, casings or shields arranged on the iianges, brush-bars arranged in the notches or recesses and connecting the disks, the bars which connect two adjacent disks being out of line with those connecting the next pair of disks, and brushes carried by the brush-bars.

4. A rotary brush comprisinga shaft, a series of disks carried by the shaft and havingveee side anges, and notches or recesses outside ing upset or headed for the purpose specified, the flanges, casings or shields arranged beand brushes carried by the brush-bars. ro tween the disks and resting on the anges, In testimony whereof I have hereunto subbrush-bars arranged in the notches or rescribed my name.

5 cesses, and connecting the disks, saidbars a THOMAS BRANTLEY. each extending only part Way across the Witnesses: l

brush-frame and being out of line with each W. D. NANOE,

other, as described5 the ends of each bar be- J. P. ROYAL. 

